Assabil Association

Assabil is a Lebanese independant association, based in Beyrouth, that has been working for about 20 years to develop public space, as a space for citizen expression and training. Public reading is at the heart of the project, moved by the belief that the diffusion of knowledge and the taste for reading are key subjects. Assabil has created the first public library in Beyrouth and now run the three local public librairies. Assabil ensures regular trainings to the Lebanese network and regularly implements cultural projects.

Foundations

Assabil was born in 1997, from the wish of a militant priest, Abi Azar, to develop public reading in Beyrouth. Since 1991, Lebanon had been emerging from a 15 years old civil war and book was standing for public space reconstruction, in a community country. Five friends gathered around the initiative with the same desire to share their love for reading. Each founding member had a different career, one was a librarian in a private school, one was a folk stories and popular sayings collecting puppeteer, the third one was an expert in public health policies… According to Antoine Boulad, who chairs the association: “The idea was that values brought by book relation would represent a bastion against the repetition of the same communities conflicts.”

The idea took the shape of a public library in Beyrouth, in Bachoura district. Then two other libraries were builded in other areas. A fourth library will hopefully open at the end of 2016, beginning of 2017.

Reaching out the public and networking

Two mobile libraries are also visiting popular suburbs in Beyrouth. One of them visits public schools from the northern suburbs and the other one the southern suburbs.

Assabil has lauched different events to share culture and encourage young people and families to taste the pleasure of wandering and attending libraries, through discussion, heritage, exhibitions, shows. The Pine trees park festival that occurs at the end of September is a beautiful example. It invites the population to discover the local park, the Horch, through a program full of pleasures, art surprises and friendliness.

The blog was created in 2010 by ZINC and COBIAC, thanks to the support of Euro Med Youth Programme and René Seydoux Foundation. The blog development took part of PACA Region and the City of Marseille decentralised cooperation programme : 2010-2012 "ICT culture", which was supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.